India

‘Adani scam, misuse of ED’: Opp members call off protest march after Delhi police blockade near Parliament

Opp members took out a protest march from Parliament House and were attempting to reach Enforcement Directorate's office and hand over a complaint to the probe agency on the Adani scam on March 15, 2023.

New Delhi: Delhi Police on Tuesday prevented members of several opposition parties who took out a protest march from Parliament House and were attempting to reach the Enforcement Directorate’s office and hand over a complaint to the probe agency on the Adani scam.

They were trying to march to highlight the alleged misuse of central probe agencies by the ruling BJP for political goals and press for an investigation into the Adani-Hindenburg issue.

Ahead of the march, Delhi Police had put up barricades and deployed a huge contingent to stop the protesting politicians from proceeding to the ED office.

The rally was called off soon as the members were not allowed to move towards the scheduled venue by the Delhi Police. They said they have sought an appointment with ED and added that they will release a joint complaint letter soon.

“They have stopped us here. We are 200 people, and there are at least 2,000 police personnel. They want to suppress our voice. And then they talk about democracy,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was quoted as saying as he briefed media after the stoppage.

On Tuesday, the members met in the office of the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge in the Parliament House complex to coordinate their joint strategy on the issue.

They had said that the protest march will begin at 12:30 pm from Parliament House and MPs from several opposition parties will take part.

The opposition has been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani-Hindenburg issue and has been stalling proceedings of Parliament over their demand.

US short-seller Hindenburg Research had alleged that the Adani group was “engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud”, and used offshore shell companies to inflate stock prices.

The group had denied the allegations, calling them “malicious”, “baseless” and a “calculated attack on India.

The Trinamool Congress had also staged a protest in front of the Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex over the LPG price hike and demanded answers from the government.

TMC MPs raised slogans against the government over the LPG price hike and demanded Modi should give them answers.

Stepping up their attack on the government for the Adani scam, the Congress on Tuesday asked why it has taken the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) “more than eight years” to complete its investigation into the imports of power equipment by the Adani Group and whether the contents of its report will be made public.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also asked why the DRI did not appeal against the ruling of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal that set aside a 2013 order imposing a fine on Adani companies for circular trading of diamonds and claiming export subsidies.

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